Review of Armathwaite Hall Hotel, Keswick

Armathwaite Hall Hotel, Keswick – 5 bubbles

We get jolly excited about new spas, and when the new spa in question is a £5 million state-of-the-art super-spa in the Lake District, we get very excited. Our Spa Spy loved her [ comfort zone ] body treatment and facial, and the sauna with a woodland view. The complete luxury-spa experience makes it 5 bubbles for Armathwaite Hall!

Was it easy to book?

First impressions?

How did they welcome you?

What happens next?

Which treatments did you have?

What were the treatments like?

How did you feel afterwards?

What happens afterwards?

Long-term effects

Was it worth it?

What else could you have?

What do you wish you'd known before you went?

Any special features?

Who do you think would like it?

Why did you give the spa this rating?

Would you go again?

Was it easy to book?

Yes. The spa at Armathwaite Hall has its own telephone number: 01768 788900. This takes you straight through to spa reception. The receptionist was very knowledgeable about all of the treatments and facilities when we called.

First impressions?

Armathwaite Hall is a beautiful stately home which dates back to 1650. Outside, there are turrets and ivy and a fabulous view down the length of Bassenthwaite Lake. The map and directions on Armathwaite Hall's website are easy to follow. We drove in through the deer park. However, we overshot the spa entrance and parked in the main hotel car park. If you are going for the day, the spa receptionist will tell you how to reach the spa car park.

Inside the house, there is oak panelling, trophy heads and sweeping staircases. No wonder the Hall is popular for weddings and special occasions.

How did they welcome you?

We'd booked the 24 Hours of Pampering package (from £230), which included use of the spa, a two-course lunch, a 60-minute treatment, a six-course table d'hote dinner in the Lake View Restaurant, and an overnight stay at the hotel.

Leanne at reception knew we were coming and signed us in. Bizarrely, we thought, she gave us complimentary tickets to the nearby Trotters World of Animals. Then we realised that this popular tourist attraction is owned by the same family as the Hall. We thought the Asian Fishing Cat could wait until we returned with smaller people.

What happens next?

Leanne took us down a long corridor to the spa. This corridor was a time-travel experience worthy of the TARDIS. The spa is a very recent addition to the hotel and, at the end of the corridor, builders were still hard at work putting finishing touches to the brasserie and bar. The state-of-the-art spa itself is very much 21st century, brand new and gorgeous. While the building is contemporary, it is not out of place in its surroundings, making use of local materials. At the centre of the circular spa reception area, with its luscious leather sofas, is a modern fireplace with a roaring wood fire. The chimney goes up through a skylight that fills the room with natural light.

Spa manager Jenni met us and invited us to change immediately into robes. The changing rooms were immaculate -- brand new, spacious and with private cubicles for more modest guests. The robes were lovely honeycomb towelling: soft and plump -- and -- oh bliss! -- pockets for my glasses and paperback. The slippers were comfy velour flip-flops.

Therapists Becky and Hayley introduced themselves to us and brought us hot water and a choice of herbal tea-bags to dunk in them. We filled in our (minimalist) consultation forms and chose our lunch from the menu.

Then it was time to try the spa! We thought about using the gym first. It's big and airy and well equipped with LifeFitness gear. Staff were on hand to show us what to do. Local people can join so I guess the gym could get busy later in the day. But the spa itself was so inviting that we gave the gym a miss.

First, we had a swim in the 16-metre infinity pool. You can't see the edges of the pool, so it looks much bigger and appears to carry on outside through the window. There are no faffy end steps so if you want to do real fitness swimming with tumble turns, you can. But we were just having a relaxing dip.

At one end of the pool, a waterfall cascades down a slate wall the height of the room. No therapeutic value at all, but very pretty!

The hot tub is outside and a good size -- no playing footsie with strangers. From the tub, there is a glorious view of the woodland and lake that surround the hotel: we've got to come back to try the tub in the winter!

The heat experience was all in one area with a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, aroma room, steam room and tropical shower. We loved the sauna. Some of us had never been in a sauna with windows before, and we could see the lake. (Again, a visit in December might be in order.)

The hydrotherapy pool had buttons to press for different massage experiences. Red lights on the buttons confused us, though -- we thought they were panic buttons! Instructions and warnings were well displayed.

Everything in the spa was working perfectly: the showers were hot when they said hot, and cold when they said cold.

There are lots of water points around the spa to rehydrate. We chilled by the pool for a little while. We had brought intelligent books with us but spent time catching up on trashy magazines instead.

We took our lunch upstairs in the reception area: we were the only people doing so that day. When the brasserie opens, guests will be able to choose whether they have lunch in the spa or the brasserie. All the options were light and salady. My friend started with a giant plate of antipasti including salami and roast vegetables and I had a tian of crab with smoked salmon, cream cheese and salad.

For pudding, we could have had fresh fruit salad, but where's the fun in that? Intrepid Spa Spies must try everything! I had coffee panna cotta with a fashionable smear of delicious crème anglaise (posh custard) and chocolate. The wafer-thin chocolate was gorgeous. My friend had a strawberry tart. (I helped her finish it.)

I had another cup of peppermint tea and my friend had a cappuccino. Then we caught up with more magazines before our treatments. Hayley and Becky came out to discuss our treatments with us. They told us that the couples room was available, and asked us if we'd like to be treated together. We said yes.

This was a good idea! We're good mates and we like to know what's going on. Being treated together won't suit you if you are the sort of person who likes absolute silence during a treatment. We changed into paper thongs -- more like bootlaces, actually -- with much hilarity about getting them on the right way round.

Which treatments did you have?

I chose the Monticelli Marvel body treatment, which uses mud from hot springs in Italy. (60 minutes, £65) It sounded like an ice cream, but certainly didn't look like one. I also had a Perfect Balance Desensitise facial (60 minutes, £55), said to "bring a sensitive skin back to normal skin type, reduce redness, soothe and helps strengthen the skin defences".

My friend had Age Away (60 minutes, £65), a "firming and anti-ageing treatment using Kamani oil to stimulate collagen, and walnut oil to work against adverse effects of pollution". She was amused by its claim to help with stretch marks as she is in her 60s with grandchildren so a little bit past caring. My friend's facial was an Age Reversal firm uplift (60 minutes, £65).

Our therapists used [ comfort zone ] products for our treatments: Skin Resonance for me and Hydramemory for my friend.

What were the treatments like?

We lay on the couches, on the same deep towelling that our robes were made of. The treatment room was spacious with plenty of room for the therapists to move and not have to boompsadaisy around the couches. I asked Becky what it was like to work in the new spa and she said, "It's fantastic, they've thought of everything." Clearly, she enjoyed working at Armathwaite Hall.

Both our massages began with a Tranquillity Welcome: three deep breaths to take in the aroma of vanilla, lemon, and palmarosa. After gently exfoliating and body brushing my skin, Becky applied the warm green gloop all over me, breasts included (she asked first). Then she wrapped me in cling film to "cook" on a lovely warm bed. All too soon, it was time to get up and shower off the gunk. Becky massaged in warm oil to moisturise and then we rolled seamlessly into my facial treatment.

My friend got a little too hot in her body treatment and asked for the temperature of her bed to be turned down. She would've liked more massage and less wrap. She also says that, if we go again, she would sniff the products before the treatment as there was a coconut smell that she didn't like much. But these, she points out, are her problems, not theirs, and they didn't spoil her enjoyment of the day.

We began the facials with another burst of Tranquillity Welcome. Then Hayley and Becky cleansed our faces and applied hot flannels. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that they were doing everything in synch.

I've found some toners akin to paint-stripper in the past, but the [ comfort zone ] toner was lovely -- a quick refreshing spritz. After gentle exfoliation and more hot flannels, it was time for the comfort touch facial massage. I heard myself making mmmm noises and then sank into zzzzz noises. I dozed off and woke myself snoring (another argument for a single room). The massage was so extremely relaxing.

Hayley and Becky then applied Hydramemory masks and massaged our feet (we could have had hand and arm massage instead) while the mask got to work. They removed the masks and spritzed the toner again. They finished with eye cream, facial serum and moisturiser (Skin Resonance Renight for me, Hydramemory cream for my friend).

All the treatments were carefully administered with good explanations of what was going on.

How did you feel afterwards?

After the treatments, we retreated to the Hush Room: soft recliners, duvets, furry blankets and complete silence apart from the birds chirruping and the hot tub bubbling below. We drank iced water and stayed there a whole hour, we were so chilled out. We weren't entirely hushed, as we were laughing about the lady we'd met downstairs who asked why there wasn't music in the Hush Room. "Ooh, I don't think I'd want it completely quiet," she said.

What happens afterwards?

At this stage, it would have been nice to stay in our robes and check seamlessly into our room. But we had to get dressed and effectively say goodbye to the spa and travel back in time to the hotel reception. There were two glasses of sherry waiting for us there!

Matthew took our bags up to our rooms. He was very knowledgeable about the history of Armathwaite Hall. Our room looked straight down the lake, and the bathroom was sumptuous with lots of complimentary products.

We put on our running shoes and took a walk through the grounds and down by the lakeside (the shore is a bit rough, don't go in flip-flops). We watched evening sailing from the nearby sailing club.

Back in our room, my hair looked terrible. Somewhere in the facial, I think I had a bit of Indian Head massage. Unfortunately, the shower in our room was static and I didn't want to wash off the body moisturiser, so I ended up washing my hair in the basin with the toothmug.

We went downstairs to continue our "re-tox" and sipped Campari in the lounge. For dinner we had a rather extravagant six-course formal table d'hôte menu, but I think we would have rather had two or three perfect courses (like our lunch) than this epic. But we are not going to say any more about the meal because we plan to return soon to try out the brasserie.

We slept well in our lovely room and planned to go back to the spa in the morning for a 7am swim and hot tub. But d'ya know, we couldn't be motivated to get dressed/undressed/wet/dry/dressed again all before breakfast. So we just read the papers and enjoyed the view.

Long-term effects

Skin gloriously smooth all over for ages. It was nice to get all those dead skin cells off just before a heatwave so that my sun protection slid on splendidly. We were tempted to buy from the "prescription" to keep our smoothness smooth, but my friend and I had both just moved house and had resolved to finish all our half-used bottles and tubes before we bought any more. (Sorry, Becky.)

Was it worth it?

The treatments at Armathwaite Hall were excellent. We'll definitely come back for a Spa Day experience.

What else could you have?

I like the look of the 3-hour Terraké Spa Rituals but at £240, I'd have to save up my pennies. I'd also like to try the signature Bassenthwaite Ritual: £120 for 90 minutes, including a Aromasoul Mediterranean exfoliation, hydrotherapy bath with Mediterranean oils and then massage. But first I must have the traditional Thai massage (60 minutes, £60) which Hayley and Becky both recommended.

There's also a full programme of indoor exercise classes and outdoor sessions to make the best use of the grounds.

What do you wish you'd known before you went?

How to get a room nearer the spa so that I could pad up and down the spa corridor in my slippers without looking like a wally. I would also book to stay the night before, rather than after, so we could eat as little or as much as we wanted in the brasserie. Some people may like the time travel, but I want to feel totally connected with the fabulous new spa and its luxuries, and leave the charm and views of the olde-worlde hotel for another occasion.

Any special features?

The spa at Armathwaite Hall is all special. We particularly liked the outdoor hot tub and the sauna with windows.

Who do you think would like it?

It would be lovely to come to Armathwaite at the end of an energetic walking holiday in the Lakes and have all the stiffness massaged out. The décor is gender neutral -- almost more masculine than feminine. This is one of the few spas I've been to that would appeal to men. Sure, your other half may want to retreat to gym or bar between treatments and activities rather than read Hello! by the pool or hunker down in the Hush Room, but there are a lot of "Man Thing" treatments to choose from. And the gym is very well equipped.

The spa admits children from 8.30am to 10.30am, and 4.30pm to 6.30pm, Monday to Saturday, and from 8.30am to 10.30am, and 2pm to 6.30pm Sundays. No-one under 18 can use the hydrotherapy area or hot rooms.

Why did you give the spa this rating?

We gave the spa at Armathwaite Hall 5 bubbles. The spa ticked all the right boxes and is the best spa I've been to in Cumbria. Jenni, Hayley and Becky looked after us well and were never out of reach if we needed something. The therapists coped well with the personal details that can sometimes embarrass -- like the bootlace thong or whether you want mud on your boobs or not. Peppermint tea and cool water were never far away. The towels and robes were all new and fluffy.